WITNESSING OUTLINE: WAKE UP TO FALSE PROPHETS

Transcription

1 WITNESSING OUTLINE: WAKE UP TO FALSE PROPHETS Using Documents from the Watchtower & Awake Magazines & Other WTBTS Publications *AKA: Jehovah s Witnesses (HISTORICAL, WTBTS DOCUMENT METHOD OF WITNESSING) Larry A. Blythe, M.A. Apologetics defendthefaith.larry@gmail.com *Why the _ around Jehovah s Witnesses? They are so-called Jehovah s Witnesses. They absolutely do not believe in the biblical Jehovah and are not witnessing about Jehovah. WHAT TO SAY SUGGESTIONS WITH JW s IN GREEN 1

2 HISTORICAL/DOCUMENT METHOD What is the historical/document method of witnessing to Jehovah s Witnesses (JW s)? It is simply this: using the Watchtower Bible & Tract Society s (WTBTS) own printed materials to reveal that since their beginning they have been: 1. Claiming to speak for God 2. Making 100 s of prophecies that failed 3. Changing, replacing, and denying previous WTBTS doctrine 4. Creating silly, illogical, unbiblical, and irrational doctrines 5. Lying in their books & magazines about many subjects 6. And many more deceptions As a result, and to keep their followers blind to the truth, they are NOT allowed to read apostate materials or any documents criticizing the WTBTS. They often claim this is not true. But when many of their writing are presented to them showing it is indeed true, they admit it but try to play it down a little. But you must keep in mind that the information in all their materials is coming directly from Jehovah. Therefore, we are using their OWN materials photocopied from the Watchtower books & magazines. WHAT IF THEY SAY Sometimes a JW will get irritated and ask the following question before you even get started, or after 1 or 2 documents. The most common question at this point is: Q-JW: Where did you obtain this information? Was it from some apostate group (former JWs who are speaking out against the JW organization)? If it is, I don t want to be a partaker in their wicked ways by looking at what they have printed. YOU: No, as a matter of fact, these pages came from books printed by the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society. In fact, if we went to your Kingdom Hall we could probably find the publications that I have photocopies from. (ONLY IF NECESSARY, YOU CAN ADD: The man who made the photocopies is a collector of religious books and has never been a Jehovah s Witness. If you want to contact him I will see what I can do to get you in touch). OR, you can add: Great question. I think it is important to go right to the source rather than read stuff from angry critics, don t you? We all have access to many different RELIGIOUS RESEARCH COMPANIES including the WTBTS. I like to respect people when I talk to them about religious issues and find answers the same way they do. NOTE 1: If they are still irritated, you can always point them to document #2 which encourages study from older and other WTBTS materials. NOTE 2: It is important that you say, I ve numbered these documents so and, in some cases, wrote in the source if it was cut off. [More answers to common objections are found at the end of this document.] 2

3 IMPORTANT PREFACE YOUR TESTIMONY It is VERY important to begin ALL CONVERSATIONS with JW s in the following manner. Why? 1. Because you may never see them again. If this happens, you will be thankful you did this. 2. They do NOT have a relationship with a personal Savior. Their personal relationship is with an impersonal organization. As you ll see below, your testimony will focus largely on your very personal relationship with the infinite God-man and Messiah Jesus Christ. After any idle chit-chat, before they launch into their free Bible study do the following. In some cases, if they catch you off-guard and begin their presentation, politely stop them and do this: JW: Hi. We are stopping by to share (or other trivial chit-chat) YOU: Thanks for stopping by. But before we discuss these very important issues, I d love to find out how you became a Jehovah s Witness. Can you give me your testimony on how all that happened? JW: Sure. (let them explain/give their testimony but don t answer questions. If they ask you a question(s) while giving their testimony, politely say I d love to answer that after you finish. ) YOU: Thank you. I really appreciate you sharing that. Now, would you mind if I shared with you how I became a Christian? (I ve never had one say, no. ) Personal Relationship: At this point, you will need to have written out your personal testimony and tweak it to emphasize (or over-emphasize ) your personal, daily, weekly, life-long, real relationship with a Person, Jesus. You should certainly have it memorized or at the least, have practiced focusing on the personal relationship. We don t normally focus on this when giving our testimony. Why now? Because the JW doesn t understand it and it will accomplish 2 things: 1. Cause them to want what you have and they don t (they realize they ve never experienced this relationship with the Living God/man). I ve had JW s tear up while giving my testimony because they realize how empty they ve been. 2. You give the entire Gospel message (death, burial, & resurrection) in a few minutes. Although it is up to you, I wouldn t focus on Jesus being God in the flesh at this point. They will lose focus on what you are saying and won t hear the rest. I ve lost them at times when I made the point of God coming in human form Here are a few suggestions or ideas for emphasizing the relationship with Jesus: A good testimony is: 1. Before salvation (what was your life like) 2. During salvation (what led to and happened at salvation) 3. After salvation (what has changed since) Relationship ideas: 3

4 I wanted nothing to do with the real Jesus. When I read the scriptures, he became a real person and I fell at His feet and He became my Savior my Lord Jesus really convicted my heart came into my heart I can t believe Jesus loved me so much that He died for me I speak with Jesus daily in prayer. He speaks to me daily from the Word of the, the Bible. It s the loveletter from my personal Savior. Now Jesus comforts me, leads me, teaches me. I was struggling one day with. I then spent time with Jesus in prayer and He changed my heart You can certainly imagine adding much more to this list. Certainly, make it personal and appropriate to you. Think of key times in your life where Christ carried you, fed you, taught you, comforted you, etc. When you are done with your testimony, you may proceed. If this is the first meeting in your home, it should end after your testimony. You ll let the JW know what you d like to do next week and see them out the door. COLD-TURKEY MEETING AT YOUR DOOR: 2. MAKE AN APPOINTMENT: As soon as you open the door, greet as normal but don t let them in. They are limited on time. You can either do the testimony suggestion taught above or make an appointment. Set up a day/time and try to get only ONE of them to come back. Why? Dealing with one is much better. Also, one of the two often changes each week. This is frustrating because you have to start all over to get the new #2 person up to date. When setting the appointment, let them know you d appreciate it if just one studies with you OR if 2, it must be the same 2 each week. 2. SAY THIS: Thank you for stopping by. I m John. And you are? I don t have much time right now, but I d love to talk further. If just one of you can come back Thursday at 7pm, I d love to get your opinion on what I ve already read in the Watchtower magazine given to me. FIRST MEETING IN THE HOME Is this your first in-home meeting or later encounters with the JW? If so, you may need to start over and do the testimony scenario if you haven t already done so. 1. DO THE TESTIMONY SCENARIO: Set up a day/time and try to get only ONE of them to come back. Why? Dealing with one is much better. Also, one of the two often changes each week. This is frustrating because you have to start all over to get the new #2 person up to date. When setting the appointment, let them know you d appreciate it if just one studies with you OR if 2, it must be the same 2 each week. 2. MAKE ANOTHER APPOINTMENT: My time is up for today. Can we meet again 4

5 INTRODUCTION: WITNESSING USING AWAKE, MARCH 22, 1993 Witnessing to a Jehovah's Witness is a two-step procedure. Before he can accept Jesus Christ as Lord and become a real Christian, he must: 1. Let go of his belief that the Watchtower Society is "God's Channel of Communication" and as such is the only source of biblical truth on earth today. This is accomplished by presenting evidence to the Jehovah's Witness proving conclusively that the Society is not God's spokesman or "prophet" as they claim to be. 2. When this is done, the' Jehovah's Witness is then released from the bondage of Watchtower authority over his life and opens his mind up to receive the truth concerning who Jesus Christ really is and what He has done for us. Now the Christian can continue evangelizing using the Scriptures. The AWAKE of March 22, 1993 makes the bold claim that even though Jehovah's Witnesses have "suggested" dates that turned out to be incorrect, they are not false prophets because they have never claimed to be "God's prophet." This witnessing outline is comprised of a series of documents designed to demonstrate to the Jehovah's Witness that the Society is in fact covering up its history in an effort to keep him in the dark on this topic. The importance of this outline is that it is effective in showing the Jehovah's Witness that he has been deceived by a false prophet. HOW DO I CONTROL THE CONVERSATION? USE A NOTEPAD! Jehovah s Witnesses are experts at making you chase rabbits. Those rabbits are every doctrine a Christian holds dear that the JW will now light on fire and utterly destroy. In a short time, you will have covered several subjects that prove Christianity is false. Do not let them get you off subject. Here s how: 1. To aid you to keep total control of the presentation it is suggested that you make use of a large pad of paper. 2. Write down your questions and statements (by copying your hand-written notes, point by point) as you share the presentation. 3. You may want to use a piece of carbon paper (good luck finding some!) to make a copy of the presentation for the JW. Both of you will then have a written record of your conversation. In this way there will be no question as to what was discussed and proven. And what will the proof be? The proof will be abundant that the JW is in great error on the all-important subject of the resurrection. 5

6 HOW TO PRESENT THE "WITNESSING OUTLINE" You should begin to use this presentation AFTER the first in-home meeting. 1. Make sure that the person you are witnessing to will give you a time commitment adequate to cover the material, probably about one hour. You don't want the Jehovah's Witness to inform you part way into the presentation that he has "an appointment" and must leave. 2. Ask the Jehovah's Witness if he would mind if you asked him a few questions concerning a recent Awake article. If he agrees, ask him to read the article on page 3 and 4 including the footnote to refresh his memory. 3. Ask the following questions to make sure that the Jehovah's Witness understands the basic intent of the article and to lay the foundation for presenting the documents. NOTE* Do not use this printed "Witnessing Outline" with the Jehovah's Witness. To do so would seem like a canned or prepared approach which would be too formal for witnessing and could quite possibly be intimidating to the Jehovah's Witness. Instead, after studying the outline and documents, copy the questions in your own handwriting. This will show that you have personally studied this topic. Ask the following 5 questions: Q1. Am I correct in saying that according to this article, if someone sets a date for the end of the world which does not come true, he is not a false prophet if he did not claim he was God's prophet or that he was speaking for Jehovah? NOTE* It may be necessary to ask the question more than once, perhaps rephrasing it until he affirms you are correct. Q2. According to this article, is it also true that if this person did in fact claim to be God's prophet and as such set a date, would he be a genuine false prophet? Q3. Is it also true according to this article, that even though the Watchtower Society has suggested dates for Jesus' second coming that they are not false prophets because they have never claimed to be "God's prophet" or are speaking the words of Jehovah? Q4. Am I correct in concluding that the Society would be a false prophet having set dates if in fact they had claimed to be God's prophet and that they were speaking the words of Jehovah? NOTE* It is imperative that you receive an affirmative answer to this last question before continuing. Re-ask and discuss as long as necessary in order to get the Jehovah's Witness to admit that the Society would be a false prophet if this claim had been made. Q5. Would you be willing to examine a few documents and give your opinion as to what they are saying? (If he agrees then proceed to the document pack, again asking the questions that you have written down in your own 'handwriting; or better still, if you can learn each question to be asked without having to read it.) 6

7 NOTE* The following procedure is utilized because it very closely duplicates the method used by the Watchtower Society when teaching Jehovah's Witnesses. The paragraph is read, and a question is asked concerning what the Society wants you to learn. Then. the answer is taken word-for-word from the text and you then proceed to the next paragraph. NOTE* You may want to skip the first three documents, (1-A, 1-B, 2) AND the above 5 questions as you do not want the Witness to feel he is being led into a trap. If necessary, you can refer back to them to answer any objections that may arise. NOTE* Do NOT give them the whole pack at once give ONLY 1 AT A TIME! This is important you ll lose them quickly if you give them the whole pack. I usually keep them in a binder, so they cannot see how many I have. 7

8 QUESTIONS FOR DOCUMENT PACK 1. Q: Is it wrong to examine the Watchtower Society? AWAKE, August 22, 1984, page 28. WATCHTOWER, November 15, 1963, page Q. Does the Society encourage studying older and hard to locate publications? WATCHTOWER, June 15, 1985, page Q. What does the term "inspired" mean? GOOD NEWS TO MAKE YOU HAPPY, page Q. What two methods does God use to inspire His prophets? INSIGHT ON THE SCRIPTURES, page Q. Does the Watchtower claim revelation by the Holy Spirit? WATCHTOWER, July 1, 1973, page Q. Does the Watchtower claim to receive information via angelic messengers? VINDICATION VOL. 111, page Q-A. Whose date is 1914? Q-B. Why couldn't they change it? WATCHTOWER, July 15, 1894, Reprints page Q. Who is responsible for the interpretation of prophecy found in booklets, magazines, and books published by the Society? WATCHTOWER, May 1, 1938, page Q. What constitutes giving "meat in due season" to the household of faith? WATCHTOWER. July 1, 1943, page Q-A. What does the Lord use to transmit His messages to the people? Q-B. Whose message is being transmitted? 1937 YEARBOOK, page Q. What does the use of quotation marks mean here? WATCHTCWER, July 1, 1943, page Q. Who is the editor of the Watchtower magazine? OLIN MOYLE Vs. W.T.B.T.S., section Q. To what extent is He the editor of the magazine? OLIN MOYLE Vs. W.T.B.T.S., section

9 14. Q. Whom has God actually used as His prophet? WATCHTOWER, January 15, 1959, page Q-A. The Watchtower was commissioned to speak as a "prophet" just like who? Q-B. Was Ezekiel an inspired prophet? WATCHTOWER, March 15, 1972, page Q-A. Who is this prophet today? Q-B. What does this prophet do? WATCHTOWER, April 1, 1972, page Q-A. How do Jehovah's Witnesses make their declaration? Q-B. Are their prophecies directed from heaven? WATCHTOWER, April 1, 1972, page Q-A. What is meant by a "modern-day counterpart"? Q-B. They are commissioned to serve as what? THE NATIONS SHALL KNOW THAT I AM JEHOVAH, page Q. What kind of prophet is the Watchtower? THE NATIONS SHALL KNOW THAT I AM JEHOVAH, page Q. Do Jehovah's Witnesses still declare the prophetic burden of Jehovah today? WATOHTCWER, March 1, 1994, page Q-A. What is someone guilty of who announces a specific date, and nothing happens? Q-B. Why? What was missing? AWAKE, October 8, 1968, page Q. Why is this person a false prophet? WATCHTOWER, October 15, 1958, page Q-A. How does Jehovah put false prophets to shame? Q-B. How do false prophets try to hide their shame? PARADISE RESTORED TO MANKIND, page Q. Is the Watchtower denying who it really is? AWAKE, March 22, 1993, page Q. Would you rather have truth covered over, or do you want to know the facts? WATCHTOWER, January 15, 1974, page Q. Based on this evidence, why has the Watchtower not passed the test of a true prophet? BEWARE OF FALSE PROPHETS. February 1, 1992, cover. 9

10 CONCLUSION QUESTIONS COMMENT/ILLUSTRATION: How should you feel if proof is given that what you believe is wrong? For example, say that you were in a car, traveling for the first time to a certain place. You have a road map, but you have not taken time to check it carefully. Someone has told you the road to take. You trust him, sincerely believing that the way he has directed you is correct. But suppose it is not. What if someone points out the error? What if he, by referring to your own map, shows that you are on the wrong road? Would pride or stubbornness prevent you from admitting that you are on the wrong road? Therefore, if you learn that you are doing what God says is wrong, will you be willing to change? PERSONAL NOTE: If the JW is willing to change, it is time to present the Gospel with the REAL resurrection of Jesus. The book FROM KINGDOM HALL TO KINGDOM COME should be used for an effective presentation of the Gospel. ANSWERS TO OBJECTIONS In order to escape the truth that his organization claims to speak for Jehovah, even claiming he (Jehovah) is the author, the JW may attempt to dodge the obvious facts that you have presented. Here are a few possible dodges and how to answer them. JW: I don t think this is a very upbuilding conversation. I don t really see it as important. ANSWER: Your own organization has given you the go ahead to examine its teachings. They stress the NECESSITY of examining our beliefs: We need to examine, not only what we personally believe, but also what is taught by any religious organization with which we may be associated. Are its teachings in full harmony with God s Word, or are they based on the traditions of men? If we are lovers of the truth, there is nothing to fear from such an examination. JW: Where did you obtain this information? Was it from some apostate group (former JWs who are speaking out against the JW organization)? If it is, I don t want to be a partaker in their wicked ways by looking at what they have printed. ANSWER: No, as a matter of fact, these pages came from books printed by the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society. In fact, if we went to your Kingdom Hall we could probably find the publications that I have photocopies from. (ONLY IF NECESSARY, YOU CAN ADD: The man who made the photocopies is a collector of religious books and has never been a Jehovah s Witness. If you want to contact him I will see what I can do to get you in touch). JW: Anyone can make mistakes; perhaps our organization will take another look at some of these issues and make some changes in the future. You can t fault us for simply making a mistake. ANSWER: Your own organization says that: The religion that is approved by God must agree in every way with the Bible.... Therefore, since they fail the test of a prophet, they are not approved by God. Also, we are looking at a very important doctrine of JWs, the supposed divine author of all their doctrine & publications. A big mistake on that teaching will cost you your very life! 10

11 JW: These statements are taken out of context. It just seems from reading these few pages that this is the teaching of JWs. However, reading the entire articles that these pages are taken from would show something much different. ANSWER: What do the entire articles teach that is different from what we have read? (The JW won t know what to say; after all--he has probably never thought about it! If the JW is honest, have him secure the entire articles that he is talking about, in order to check the entire context. The evidence is clear, no matter how much he reads). JW: Why are you attacking Jehovah s Witnesses? ANSWER: I m not - 1. All the information we are reading is from your own literature. By the way, since both of us are merely reading the Society s statements and agreeing as to the meaning of them, I am not attacking JWs any more than you are! 2. Jehovah s Witnesses are told: It is not religious persecution for an informed person to expose publicly a certain religion as being false, thus allowing persons to see the difference between false religion and true religion. Watchtower, 11/15/63, p Your organization has also said: If the message Jehovah s Witnesses are bringing to the people is true, then it is of greatest importance to mankind. If it is false, then it is the duty of the clergymen and others who support them to come boldly forward and plainly tell the people wherein the message is false. Golden Age, 1/18/33, p JW: I can have my personal opinion about it, a different one, and still remain a JW. ANSWER: The Society counsels you to preach what they teach: We should eat and digest and assimilate what is set before us, without shying away from parts of the food because it may not suit the fancy of our mental taste. The truths we are to publish are the ones provided through the discreet slave organization, not some personal opinions contrary to what the slave has provided as timely food...theocratic ones will appreciate the Lord s visible organization and not be so foolish as to pit against Jehovah s channel their own human reasoning and sentiment and personal feelings. Watchtower, 2/1/52, pp

12 ADDITIONAL TRAINING FOR PRESENTING THE DOCUMENTS: A. HOW DO I BEGIN THE CONVERSATION? Say something like this: I am very interested in what Jehovah s Witnesses believe on the subject of their hope, if they die, to later be resurrected into Paradise earth. Will you spend a few minutes giving me your opinion about some things I have been reading from your literature? (He will be delighted!) B. HOW DO I MAKE MY PRESENTATION? Tell him you have made a few notes from some things you have read in his literature. You have two sets of documents (one for him and one for you). Keep both sets in your possession in a file folder and do not show any document before you come to it in your presentation then give ONLY 1 at a time once you begin. Now begin your presentation of the documents. Start by handing him a SINGLE copy of the first document. Tell him that this is the subject you are interested in. C. HOW DO I BEGIN WRITING MY NOTES FOR THE PRESENTATION? Tell him you want HIS OPINION of what the literature says for your notes. (In other words, you want to know if he AGREES with your own understanding of the documents). As you show him each document, read him your brief note of what the document means and ask him if he agrees. D. HOW DO I RECORD HIS OPINION? After each question is answered, simply write down what he says (in as few words as possible). Most of his answers should be yes or no. FOR EXAMPLE: Question #1 is: Is it wrong to examine the Watchtower? Your answer is no. After he has looked at the Document which goes with the question, he will give his answer. The answer will also be no. In the space below Question #1 write his answer: no. (if he answers yes! then the conversation may be over he is not a reasonable person) Or you may use the notepad method E. HOW DO I GET THE JW TO CONTINUE TO LOOK AT ALL THE DOCUMENTS IF HE BEGINS TO GET UNEASY WITH THE THINGS HE IS READING? Remind him that he has already obligated himself to give his opinion of what the literature says. (If he is honest, he will honor his own word). F. HOW DO I END THE PRESENTATION? Ask the JW if he now understands that his religion teaches false prophecies and that his own organization says when he finds he is on the wrong road (in the wrong religion) --he should change --in other words--leave it to pursue TRUTH! 12